Handling of child’s murder: SC summons capital police chief

ISLAMABAD:

The Chief Justice of Pakistan on Monday took suo motu notice of the alleged rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl and summoned the capital’s top cop for an explanation on Tuesday (today).     

Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry directed Inspector General of Police (IGP) Bani Amin to appear in person and submit a complete report of the case.

The move came after relatives of the victim began protesting. Soon after the SC took notice of the alleged rape and murder of the child, the Islamabad police sprung into action and rearrested two accused, who were reportedly released after greasing the palms of a few men in uniform.



Sehr*, a third-grader, was reportedly raped and killed, after which her body was set on fire to conceal the crime. The killers dumped her body in a nullah in Sector I-9. The body was recovered on Saturday.

Her parents nominated the deceased’s tutor Maha*, a student at National University of Modern Languages, and her father Qamar* with the help of sniffer dogs.

According to Dr Nasreen, the medico-legal officer who conducted the forensic examination, the body was burnt too badly for samples to be taken to confirm rape, “however, the possibility of rape cannot be ruled out”.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 19^th, 2013.